Inhuman Nature
by MoshPit
Summary: Wolves may mate for life, but that doesn't mean Virginias do...Finished!(61204)
1. A visit from a Wolf

Inhuman Nature

MoshPit

Simply put, Virginia Grayson loved Saturday mornings.  The muffled sounds of the morning cartoons coupled with the innocent laughter of her only son, Timothy, drifting in from the room next to hers; laying awake with her eyes shut tight as the first of the sun's rays played across her face; being able to lose herself in her husband's embrace as the two of them lay entwined within each other, huddled beneath that horrid purple and orange quilt her grandmother had made for them.  All of this, combined with the fact that she didn't have to drag herself out of bed and haul herself to work made Saturday mornings the absolute perfect time of the week.

Until the doorbell rang.

Which it always did, second Saturday every month.

"That'll be Warren," he rumbled behind her.  "I'll get the door, and let you get Timothy ready."  Virginia smiled, and hugged his muscular arms closer to her; a silent thanks.  Those little moments, right before her baby left for the weekends, tying his tiny shoes, playing their little counting games, those moments were special to her, for reasons no man would ever, nor _could_ ever, understand.

He swung himself out of bed, stretching and groaning as the newly awake do, and pulled on a 'Frodo Lives' t-shirt hanging from the post of the bed.  The green of the shirt clashed with the yellow-orange of his boxers, but did he care?  No.

He made his way to the door of the small yet serviceable Grayson apartment.  And Warren Wolfson, the cocky bastard, was waiting.

"Hey, dick," Wolfson said with a feral smile, "is Virginia in?"

"Yeah, she's coming.  And it's Richard, please."  Warren just smiled with that annoyingly dashing and wild way he had.

It would be nice to say that Richard didn't like Warren.  It would be nice to say that, yes, but it wouldn't be true.  He hated the man, as much as he could hate any person.  He hated Warren in the same way he hated Miss Cleo and politicians.  Richard hated fakes, and he hated the untrustworthy.  Warren, in his eyes, was both.  His smile had that unnatural gleam to it that half made you expect to hear a 'ping!' and see a poorly timed 'dazzle' effect.  His lank, black hair always seemed to have that greasy sheen to it that Richard usually associated with corrupt and devious lawyers.  And his _eyes_… Though Richard would never admit it to Virginia (or anyone else, for that matter), he would swear on his life he often saw a hungry, wolf-like glint in Warren's eyes whenever he looked at his ex-wife or his son.  Small wonder Virginia divorced him after one year (and nine months).

Virginia rounded a corner, fully dressed, her slender hand wrapped tightly around the hand of her small child, looking for the entire world that she feared the boy would fall and break if she let go.  For indeed, confusion shone brightly behind the eyes on Timothy's blissfully ignorant face.  The boy was still too young at this age to understand neither who this man was who took him from his mother every month, nor why he did so.  But he did as all small children do; he went with the flow and loved every minute of it.

She knelt down, fussing with the sticky zipper on her son's jacket, trying to ignore the cold, penetrating stare watching her from the doorway.

"You don't need to do that," he said, his smooth, silky voice wrapping itself around her.  "I actually need to talk to you for a moment."  Virginia straightened herself, daring herself to look him in the eye.  It was the first time, she realized, since she left, that she intentionally looked at Warren.  Oh, he had caught little accidental glimpses here and there, but never had she looked at him straight on.  She couldn't, even after all this time, without remembering what happened, what he did…

But she couldn't hide forever.  He was Timothy's father, and it had been hard enough to get him down to one unsupervised visitation a month.  Warren, as much as she hated to admit it, was still a part of her life.

Richard put a protective hand on her shoulder, a compassionate look in his eyes that clearly said, _You don't have to_.  She reached up and gave his hand a gentle squeeze.  _I know._

^. , .^

Warren quietly shut the door behind him.  "Have I mentioned lately," he started, "how much I love the fact that you married a dense Richard?  Poor man can't even tell Dick from dick."  He smiled at her, that savage, hungry smile she had come to know… and fear.  

Virginia folded her arms and leaned against the wall.  "If you brought me out here just to insult my husband…"  Warren shook his head and, in a movement that surprised Virginia to no end, offered his hand to her.

"Walk with me, Virginia."  The woman tensed, uneasy at the prospect of being alone with him to far away from the safety of her home.  Warren sensed her fear, and reached out to her, a sharp pain stabbing his heart when she flinched under his touch.  "I won't hurt you," he said in soft, soothing tone, wrapping his fingers around the silky curls of her unusually short brown hair.  "I could never hurt you."

"You've hurt me before."  The cool hardness of her voice chilled him, and Warren suppressed a sad shiver before inching his body closer to hers.

"Yes," he said sadly, "I did.  But I wasn't… _right_.  If I had known what I was doing, I never…" he trailed off, the unspoken hate in her eyes silencing him.  And for good reason, too.  The very _idea_ that he could use his wolfy ways as and excuse for what he did made him feel dirtier than when he had slaughtered that young girl in the fifth kingdom so long ago.  Though she deserved it, that one.

Warren sighed, a little downcast, inched closer and brought his hand around to cup her face.  "Walk with me.  Please."  Against all rational thought, Virginia leaned into his hand, her eyes closed, savoring the warmth of his touch.  It was wrong, she knew, but hearing him talk to her like that, so sad, and with such kindness, she briefly flitted back to their first moments as a true couple; how soft his voice was when he spoke to her; how smooth he felt when he touched her; how gentle he was when he loved her.  Nodding her head ever so slightly, she consented, and started following him down the hall.  They walked together for several minutes in silence, side-by-side, so close they were almost touching, but not for the sake of the other.

"What did you want to talk to me about?" Virginia said, finally breaking the silence with her soft, quiet voice.  Warren stopped, closed his eyes, and inhaled deeply.

"You smell wonderful, Virginia."

"What do you _want_, Warren?"  

"Please!"  The urgency in his voice startled her, and even more the abrupt way he grabbed her hand with both of his.  "Please," he voice softened now, "we're alone here.  You don't have to call me that."

"What is it… Wolf?"  It felt so strange, using his real name like that.  He had been Warren to the rest of the world for the last three years.  Only in the privacy of their own home had she called him Wolf, and she hadn't _been_ in the privacy of their own home for at least a year.

Virginia looked into Wolf's eyes.  There was a humanity there she had never seen before, such a deep sorrow.  Whatever he was about to say was going to cause the both of them a great deal of pain.

"Come back to me."  It was little more that a whisper, filled with such earnest and heartfelt sadness that it was all Virginia could do to keep the tears at bay.  She shook her head.

"I can't do that."

"You have to!"

"I don't-"

"For Timothy's sake!"  That last bit got to her.  As any good mother, Virginia was fiercely protective of her son, maybe more so than others, because she knew what his father was capable of.  

"You know what he _is_," Wolf continued.  "You know what he can become.  It's easy now; full moon comes around and he may get a bit cranky, but that's normal for small children, isn't it?

"But he can't stay your baby forever, Virginia.  Someday, when he's grown older, he's going to change.  _And he won't understand! _He could hurt himself.  He could hurt _you_."  The woman was shaking, the tears she had successfully stopped earlier coming freely now.  Wolf, the beginnings of tears forming in his eyes as well, puller her close to him, embracing her, soothing her as he used to do.

"He's my son too, Virginia," he whispered into the sobbing woman's ear.  "I only want what's best for him.  I want to protect him.  To protect you."

The tears were coming slower now, and Virginia felt she should break away from his embrace, but it felt _right_ somehow.  The calming, familiar feeling of his strong arms around her slender body… she never wanted to leave.

"Come back with me," he said again, stroking the back of her head.  "Come home with me."  And for a moment, she almost said yes.  She almost forgave him for everything just so she could stay here in the warmth of his arms and be safe.  But the thought of Richard sitting back at the apartment, Timothy on his lap, one eye on _Freddie Frog Goes to Town_, the other on the door, waiting for her return, and she couldn't.  She didn't need to go with Wolf to have a home and be safe.  She had a home _here_.  She was safe _here_.

"I'm sorry," she choked out, pushing herself away from him, trying hard to avoid his tearstained cheeks and hurt expression.  "I'm so sorry, but I have a life here.  I can't just leave it."  She started back down the hall towards her corridor, but before she was halfway to her first turn, he called to her.

"What will you tell Richard, then?"  Virginia stopped, but did not turn, not daring to give Wolf the satisfaction of knowing he had touched a nerve.  

"How will you explain," he continued, "what I am.  What Timothy is?  How will it change his opinion of you?"  Virginia turned fast, and jumped.  Wolf was practically on top of her, and slowly backing her against the wall.

"It won't change at all," she said, as courageously as she dared.  Wolf snorted.  Virginia's back hit the wall, and Wolf's hands rested on the wall on either side of her.  Trapped.

"He hates me, you know," he hissed, his voice low and sensual, his face just inches from hers.  "He hates that I've touched your creamy skin, and that I've kissed your perfect mouth.  He hates that I know what you think, how you think.  He hates that I've tasted you.  He hates that I've loved you.

"He's never blamed you of course.  Never really blamed me either.  As far as he knew, I'm just the guy who got to you first.  He hates that he got my sloppy seconds."  Cruel though it was, Wolf delighted at seeing her flinch and shudder at those last two words.  "When he gets wind of how you willingly bedded something less than human, he'll still hate me, but huff puff, he'll hate you more."  And now her tears were coming again.  "You'll be less than nothing to him.  An interspecies slut."

Virginia shuddered, trying to hard to block out the hurtful words, but to no avail.  So she resorted to the old 'push-him-off-and-walk-away' routine.  To her surprise, it worked.  Wolf said nothing, he just fell into step behind her, a cruel smile playing with the corners of his lips.

Virginia hesitated in front of her door.  She had to clam herself; no telling what Richard might do if her saw her like this.  She scrubbed away her tears with her sleeve, and reached for the knob.

"You don't need to fear me," the deep, silky voice said.  "Even if he throws you out, you can always come to me.  I will always love you."  Virginia said nothing, just opened the door.

After a quick kiss and hug goodbye to Timothy, while avoiding the eyes of Wolf, Virginia shut the door behind them.  She folded her arms across her chest and sank back against the door with the sickening sensation that she had just delivered a lamb into the den of a hungry wolf. 


	2. Full moons

Inhuman Nature              

MoshPit           

Virginia stared out the window at the gray, gloomy Sunday.  She wrapped her arms around herself, trying to escape a chill that wasn't there, a chill that twisted around her very bones.  Powerful arms entwined themselves around her body, and for a fleeting moment, she imagined they were Wolf's arms, then remembered that he was the reason she felt so cold.

"I miss my baby," she said softly by way of explanation.  "I hate that I can't see him all the time."

"I know," Richard's deep voice rumbled.  "But think how hard this custody thing must be for Warren.  Only being able to see his son once a month?  It'd drive me crazy."

Crazy.  Yes, she thought, that's exactly how it's making me feel.  To not be able to see, to hold my baby boy…it's make me insane.  _It could drive Wolf insane_…

~*~*~*~*~*~

Full moon.  It never really occurred to her how amazingly bright a full moon could be.  But it kept her occupied, the light did, on these nights.  All the lights on and the television turned up as loud as it could go (without disturbing the neighbors), that's what it took to drone out the noise.

_It seemed inhumane, to keep him looked up like that.  She always cringed afterwards upon seeing the red welts around his wrists and ankles where the chains had rubbed the skin raw.  He just smiled, and gave her a little hug, and told her it didn't hurt that much._

_A bloodcurdling howl echoed throughout the apartment, sending shivers down her spine.  It made her think of the time they went to buy the chains.  'They had to be perfect,' he had said.  'One tiny flaw, and you never know what I could do.'_

_And so they spent each full moon like this; her in the living room, lights and volume up, and him in the linen closet, silver chains wrapped around his limbs, cutting into his flesh.  That night shouldn't have been any different._

_First, she heard the crack.  No big deal, she thought.  It wouldn't have been the first time he'd broken the closet door.  _

_Then, she heard the thump.  This sounded a bit suspicious; the chains shouldn't have had that much slack.  She got up from her chair, her sitcom rerun abandoned, and headed for the closet.  _

_Then, she heard the cry.  And she began to run._

~*~*~*~*~*~

"I want to reschedule."  Richard looked blankly at his wife.

"What for?"  he asked.  _Full moon_, she answered silently, although she know that was a lie.

"I just need to have my baby here tonight, that's all."  Richard sighed heavily.  This was going to be one of those arguments he could not win.

"Fine," he said, "But you have to call him."


	3. Memories

Inhuman Nature

MoshPit

It couldn't be that hard.  Just one phone call.  She'd dialed that number before.  She'd _lived at that number before.  Why then, she asked herself, do my fingers shake every time I reach for the phone?_

She couldn't put it off forever.  She grabbed the phone.  She dialed the number.  And then she held her breath.

_Ring._

_Ring._

_Ring._

"Hullo?"  Wolf's sleepy voice echoed in her ear.  Virginia clutched her chest, almost as if she were feeling for her heart beat, making sure it hadn't stopped.

"Wolf?  It's me."

"Virginia?  What's wrong?  Did Richard…"

"No," she answered, almost a bit too quickly.  "No, Richard didn't do anything.  I just… it just…"

"What's wrong, Virginia?"

"I want my baby back."  The words came out in a rush, and after she said them, Virginia nearly regretted saying them at all.  Dead silence greeted her from the other side of the telephone line.  Then, after what seemed like an eternity of dead air—

"I can't do that Virginia."  

"What!" she whispered, trying to hide the shock in her voice from Richard, whom she was certain was listening in the next room.  "Why not?"  

"I'm doing this for your own good, Virginia.  For Timothy's own good.  I'm trying to protect him."

"You can't deny me my child Wolf!" she screamed.  Immediately, she regretted raising her voice, knowing full well that Richard was in the next room.  She sighed inwardly, just thinking about the uncomfortable questions she would have to answer.

There was another long, painful pause.  Then finally—

"Do you know what wild animals do to protect their young?"  And this time, Virginia's heart stopped.  Not again, she cried from the inside.  Oh dear _God not again._

~*~*~*~*~

_Then she heard the cry._

_And she began to run.  She ran as fast as her legs could carry her to the linen closet where Wolf would have been chained._

_The chains had been ripped from the wall.  Four gaping holes, two in each wall, revealed the pluming from a nearby bathroom.  Bits of snow white plaster flaked to the ground, mixing with drops of red.  His blood, she realized.  He's cut himself._

_A piercing cry from the next room commanded her attention.  She hurried quickly to the room where it was coming from, and gasped and cried at the same time when she saw where it was—the nursery._

_She reached for the knob, and was shocked to find that it was locked.  Tears running down her face, she slammed her palms against the door, screaming._

_"What are you doing!  What are you doing!" she cried, trying her best to keep from becoming a hysterical mess._

_"I'm protecting my young!" came the feral growl from the room.  Virginia screamed again, pounding on the door, clawing and tearing at the knob, demanding to be let inside. _

_"Let me in!" she screamed between sobs.  "You have to let me in!  You **have to let me in!"  And then came the silence.  No growls, no grunts, no cries, save her own.  A horrible, animal silence; no sound but the heavy breathing of a wolf.**_

_"Do you know what wild animals do to protect their young?"  His voice appeared right there at the door, causing __Virginia__ to jump._

_"Well?" he asked again.  __Virginia__ swallowed another scream, and leaned close to the door._

_"What do they do, Wolf?" she asked in a small, frightened voice._

_"They eat them."_

_Virginia__ heard the screams.  She didn't realize they were her own._

~*~*~*~*~

The screams of her memory blended with the piercing ring of the dial tone.  Wolf had hung up on her.  

"No!" she said in a quiet whisper.  Then, louder, "**_NO!"  Richard came running from the next room.  _**

"Virginia?"  She turned to him, eyes wet with tears.

"I have to leave.  I have to go see Wolf," she said reaching for her coat.  He looked at her, concern and bewilderment lacing his gaze.

"What happened?  What did he do?"  Virginia looking into her husband's open, honest face, and knew she couldn't keep secrets from him any longer.

"Did I ever tell you," she started, with a heavy voice and an even heavier heart, "that Timothy had a twin?"

A/N:  Ha HA!  How's _that for a cliffhanger? __      ___


	4. A Tender Moment

Inhuman Nature

MoshPit

"I'll kill him."  Richard Grayson said, a look of cool determination on his face as he reached for his jacket.  "I will kill him _dead."  Virginia stood nearby, holding herself in her arms.  She felt disgusted with herself.  Now, upon reliving that evening, that horrible nightmare, she wondered how she could have ever thought of taking that monster, that __wolf back._

Richard looked up, saw the downcast look on his wife's face, misinterpreted it, and moved to stand by her.

"I don't blame you, you know," he said, cradling her face.  "If anything, I blame myself for not seeing what he was earlier.  You came to the police station that night for protection; I feel as if I've let you down."  Virginia shook her head.

"No," she said, her voice wavering, "it _is my fault.  I should have known better.  He's an animal, more so than you think, and I shouldn't have let my emotions get the better of me.  I just…" and here her voice began to break, tears threatening to fill her eyes yet again.  Richard smiled knowingly._

"You just loved him.  I understand.  And again, I don't blame you.  I can't place the blame on you because you fell in love with him.  Warren, he's just…" he hesitated, trying to find the right words.  "He's a sick man.  There's no way you could have known about that."

'But I did know!' She wanted to cry.  'I knew everything about him!  I knew what he was, I knew what he could do, I knew what he was capable of…' all she could do was shiver.  Richard held her close.

"I know this is hard for you," he said softly.  "And I am so sorry that you had to go through that, that you have to go through this.  But I made a promise to protect you, and I will always keep that promise."

~*~*~*~*~

_Virginia__ stood back, and took a running leap at the door.  It fell open, unresisting to the force of her body.  She stumbled into the dark nursery, fearing what she might see.  There were no lights, so she could not see where Wolf was, but the smell, oh **god the smell…**_

_She crept through the room, eyes open, searching for some sign of Wolf.  On the far side, near the window, the ivory light of the full moon silhouetted the baby crib shared by their two children.  Stifling a cry, she tip-toed over to it, trying with all her might to prepare herself for what she might see.  She peeked over the edge…_

_Timothy gurgled at her, waving a tiny, pudgy fist in the air.  He lay alone in the crib.  __Virginia__ gently picked him up, and held the child close._

_"And Andrew?" she asked the darkness, not yet sure if she wanted an answer or not.  _

_"Gone, gone," came the quiet growl from an indeterminate corner of the room._

_"Gone where?" she asked quietly, at the same time slowly backing away to the door.  A hand appeared on the small of her back, using a gentle force to stop her._

_"You're leaving," his voice breathed in her ear.  Oh that smell… he really **did it…**_

_ "Why did you do it?" she said, her voice cracking.  "How could you do that to him?  To **me?  How could you kill my baby?"  The hand removed itself from her back, and she heard his footsteps walk to her side.**_

_"I was protecting him," the voice said.  Virginia tried to glimpse Wolf, but he hid in the shadows cast by the moon.  "I have a duty to protect my young."_

_"They're **my young, too!  You can't keep a mother from her children!"**_

_"I did it for you," the voice said, a bit hurt.  "I did it for you.  I'd do anything for you, Virginia."  She flinched involuntarily at his use of her name._

_"Everything I've ever done," the voice continued, "it was all for you.  I left my home for you, Virginia."  There was a slight rustling as Wolf began to move.  "All that I had ever known was back there, in the nine kingdoms, and I left it all behind, for you.  I've risked life and death for you.  It was always for you."  Wolf stepped into the moonlight, its soft beams haloing him, giving his demonic appearance an ethereal touch._

_"Always for you," he said again, and began advancing on __Virginia__.  She backed away, clutching Timothy close to her chest._

_"You stay away from me," she warned.  Wolf smiled, pointed teeth glinting in the moonlight.  He reached out a hand to her._

_"Come back, __Virginia__.  I'm the only one who understands.  I'm the only one who knows how to care for you."  He took a step closer, and __Virginia__ turned and ran._

~*~*~*~*~

"Turn left here."  Richard had never been to Virginia's old apartment, and Virginia herself felt too shaky to drive, so she sat in the passenger seat and directed him.  They sat in silence for most of the drive, with only her occasional directions for conversation.  

"You can't kill him, you know," she said finally, after much deliberation.

"I know," came the stoic response.

"It's wrong," she persisted, looking for a more satisfying answer.

"I know."

"You shouldn't take a human life."  There was silence from her other half.  And then—

"I'm not going to kill him, because I know that somewhere, deep, deep…_ deep… inside of him, there's a human soul, and because I know you would never forgive me if I did.  So it's for you.  I won't kill him, for you."_

_I left it all, for you…  Virginia shivered._

"You can hurt him if you want to," she said.  Richard smiled at her.

"I know."  She returned his smile, glad to know that he cared for her.

"Stop here," she said.  Richard stopped the car.  'All right,' Virginia said to herself, 'time to face the wolf.'


	5. An Interlude

Inhuman Nature

MoshPit

  
  


She felt so small here, standing before this cold, forbidding building, its familiar gray bricks looming before her, dwarfing her, filling her mind with memories of him. Distantly, far in the back of her mind, she could hear his laughter, and shadows flashing across her eyes took her back to a Saturday morning, months ago, when they were all still a loving, happy family.

  


A crinkling of leather, and the cold of Richard's jacket sleeve on the back of her neck brought her back to reality.

  


"You don't have to be here, you know," he whispered into her ear, drawing her thin form close to his body, shielding her from the biting cold of the New York night. "I can handle this loser on my own." Virginia smiled, reveling in his concern.

  


"Yes," she confirmed quietly, hand sliding under his jacket to finger a holster, not nearly as empty as she would have preferred it. "I know just how you would handle him." She looked up at him, making no attempt to hide the dampness in her eyes. "You can't kill him, you know. I can't explain it, but I don't want you to hurt him." Richard, though visibly disappointed in her move for pacificist actions, swallowed his pride and reached for the call-button labeled 'Wolfson'.

  


"Yes?" his deep voice crackled out from the static.

  


"It's Richard. Let me up."

  


"Yeah, no. I don't think I'm gonna do that." Virginia struggled away from Richard's grasp, and slammed her fingers against the button.

  


"Warren?" Silence. "Warren," she tried again, with a little more force. Still silence, though she swore to herself that she heard the distinct hum of static, indicating that Wolf was there, listening, maybe waiting to reply. Minutes passed.

  


"WOLF!" she screamed into the speaker, ignoring the startled passers-by on the side-walk, as well as Richard's confused and concerned stare. She ran to the side-walk, and screamed up at Wolf's window. 

  


"Wolf! I'll wake up every person in this building, in this _city_, until you let. Me. Up! WOLF!" She screamed his name again, ignoring the stares and the collections of "Shut the fuck up!"'s being hurled her way. She stomped her feet; she screamed and cried; she did everything short of scaling the walls to reach his apartment and forcing her way inside. It had to work, he _had_ to let her in. 

  


She sank to her knees, tears spilling from her eyes, still screaming despite her increasingly raw throat. He wasn't going to buzz her up. The bastard was going to make her scream until someone called the police and they carted her away and she'd never see her baby again...

  


"Virginia?" She wiped her nose with her sleeve, and looked up at Richard with red, watery eyes. He stood at the threshold, slightly shaken, holding the door open; in her rage she hadn't heard the buzz. 

  


~*~*~*~*~

  


It was her silence that bothered him the most. She wouldn't talk to him on their journey up the stairwell; she flat out refused to tell him about 'Wolf', though the reality in his mind felt a lot worse than anything the truth could hold. He couldn't understand how someone who hurt so much could stay so silent.

  


It scared Richard that Virginia wouldn't talk to him. After all they had experienced together up to this point, he thought they could share just about anything, any hardships that crossed their paths, without feeling any shame. But hearing her cry, seeing her beat the pavement until her fists bled, and then not telling him just who Warren _really_ was, and what he had done to her, it made him feel useless.

  


He had always told himself he would protect her. Ever since that cold New York evening when the brown eyed woman stumbled into his station, eyes full of tears, and clutching a bewildered child to her chest, he swore that she would never have to feel that scared again. Richard felt he failed, that she was afraid again.

  


Now they stood before Wolf's door, the little apartment he and Virginia had shared together, the very same one she and her father had lived in, before all that business with the Nine Kingdoms. Virginia didn't know what may lie behind the imposing oak door, and frankly, she was terrified of what she might find. Would Timothy still be in there, alive and unharmed? Or would it be like that night, with the tears, and the screams, and the blood, oh _God_ the blood...

  


No. She couldn't break down; not here, not now. With a surprisingly steady hand, she knocked on the door. There was a quiet rustling behind the door, and a stifled cry. A sudden silence followed, and after what seemed like an eternity, the door opened. Virginia looked on, stare never wavering.

"Wolf." 


	6. A Dark Wave Crests

The pounding echo of rushing blood and adrenaline rebounded off the stark hallway walls and into the gaping maw of the black depths of Wolf's apartment entrance.  The man in question could not be seen in the intense darkness and shadow, and though Virginia's eyes strained against the absence of light, she could not make out the threatening world beyond the threshold.  Tentatively, and with Richard's calloused hand wrapped protectively around her own, she stepped forward, into the lair of the beast.

A flicker in the shadows; a muffled thump from the beyond; clues, vague hints of a presence with the darkness crept across her vision, and she breathlessly spoke his name again.

"Wolf?"  A low rumbling, a growl—a laugh? wafted from the abyss into her ears.  Behind them, the apartment door creaked, and from an unseen source of initiation, eased into a closed position.  Utter dark.  Virginia didn't bother to turn around; she knew he wouldn't be there.  Filtered moonlight softly illuminated a back wall, and if Virginia squinted just so, she could make her mind believe that the moon cast one too many shadows against the unsightly beige backdrop.  If she listened closely, she could will her ears to accept that faint, barely there breath that made her twitch in sinful anticipation. 

A sloppy, moist gurgle dribbled saliva down the back of her neck, and only then did she realize that Richard had stopped holding her hand.  Slowly, so as not to startle any feral beasts, she turned, eyes jumping faster than her heart beat.  There, outlined in faint lunar light, she could see her husband's face, the dim beams of gentle radiance playing against eyes that rolled skyward and bulged grotesquely; lips that puckered and gaped like a dying fish; cheeks, normally taught against lightly stubbled, sculptured bones, now inflating, distorting his handsome face.  His chin tilted towards the ceiling, supported by the tight grip of a claw-like hand, razor sharp nails pressed against the delicate flesh of his neck.  Over the tall man's shoulder glinted an eye, reflecting off the moonlight, and to her horrified dismay, radiating with a brilliant white sheen, and flush against Richard's jugular, shone a tooth, a _fang_, poised on a pin, yearning for an excuse to bite.

   "Make one move, Virginia," came that voice, like silk dragged across wet velvet, "and I'll rip it out."  Out of habit, she jerked forward, pulled by the unwavering need to protect the ones she loved.  The mass of darkness and body twitched backward, pulling Richard from the light of the moon just enough, so that she couldn't see the tears of pain beginning to drip down his bloating cheeks.  Not enough, however, to prevent her from seeing the lone tooth prick into the fragile skin at the nape of his neck: not a substantial wound, but deep enough to draw blood. 

"Don't try that again," the phantom voice warned.  "There's a baby in the back room, I have your husband by the throat, and if you make one move that I don't approve of, they'll both be dead before you have the chance to react." 

For a brief moment, trapped in a world of suspended perversity, an onslaught of sobs wracked her body, the recent adrenal spike having left her emotionally drained.  But she composed herself quickly, and though salted droplets of fear caked her cheeks, Virginia faced her monster head on.

"Please…" her voice, barely loud enough to dent the bustle of the city below them, drifted mutely until they reached the ears of their intended receiver.  The body in the shadows twitched briefly, whether in grief or mirth she couldn't tell.  Richard now hung limply in Wolf's grasp, knees buckling towards the ground, supported only by the suffocating grip of the creature's on his windpipe.  In an arbitrary act of mercy, Wolf released his hold on the unconscious man, letting him collapse in an ungainly heap on the floor.  And then he stepped into the light.

The moon glinted evilly off his morbid, abysmal, _feral_ grin, and with his feet hidden in the shadows, his body seemed to glide over to hers, his movements smooth, fluid, and confidant.  "Please," he sneered.  "_Please_.  I think we've moved beyond 'please'."  Now he stood practically on top of her, this course being silhouetted in the mellow luminescence of the moon.  Her breath came in short, shallow pants, and beneath the terror and fear she could make out the faint odor of pepper and sweat. 

Wolf's heavily lidded eyes drooped, closing completely, and he inhaled deeply.  "You smell wonderful, Virginia," he soothed, leaning in close to her face, nuzzling her ear.  "You smell like Wednesdays and sunsets and fear."  Fingers began to wander, some brushing against the small of her back, some to play with the fabric of her sleeve.  "You smell like hope and hate and the thousands of reasons to wake up in the morning."  His warmth radiated between the two of them; his chapped lips brushed against the hollow of her neck, and though her skin flinched and writhed at his touch, she stood rigid, frozen in fear of the multitude of things he could do to her.

Wolf's mouth hovered near her ear, his heated breath hanging wetly on her skin.  "You smell like eternity."  Pinned against him by his sheer will, Virginia clenched her eyes, fast and hard, banishing the darkness in an explosion of yellow, purple, and abstract patters.  She could hear his breaths, some swift and dry, brief inhalations of scents, others wet and heavy, a slow, sensual aroused pattern.  The fingers returned, counting her vertebrae, traveling slowly up the curve of her spine; a few lingered, tracing the contour of her jeans.  Quivering silence hung, broken only by the faint shuddering of her breath.

Without pretense, the fingers stopped.  Hands withdrew from her trembling form, and the mass before her inched away, not so far that she was beyond reaching distance, but enough to allow her to move away if she wished.  "I could kill you in three seconds if I really wanted to."  A strangled sob escaped her lips, and Virginia shuddered, eyes still tightly shut.  Instead of receiving the painful blow she expected, the faint metallic click of a cocked pistol graced her ears.  Daring to open her eyes, subtle darkness assaulted her, and she could just make out the glint of moonlight on metal. 

Richard stood behind Wolf, dangerously close, pressing his handgun against a throbbing vein in the beast's neck.  "Could you?" he asked, voice belabored by strangled breaths.  "Are you really that fast?"

"Yes."

"Want to test the theory?"  Wolf said nothing, merely glaring at a point in the wall just above Virginia's head.  That was all the proof Richard needed.  Letting his eyes flicker from the back the man's head to those of his wife, Richard addressed the shaken girl.  "Get.  Timothy.  NOW."  

Can't.

The reply was unspoken, but through the fear relayed in those precious eyes, Richard could see the truth.  But now was not the time to be gentle.

"Move."  A hitch of the breath, a choked sob, and somehow Virginia reconnected with the world around her, turning quickly and disappearing around a corner.  Man and beast were left to their own devices.

"I can smell your fear," taunted Wolf, pressing back into his captor's chest.  To his muted surprise, Richard didn't push back, and he didn't back away, either.

"Really?" came the reply, coupled with a jab to the jugular.  "Then smell this: stay away from my family.  I don't know what your history is with my wife, and I don't _want_ to know, but what ever happened, you messed it up, and now _you_ have to live with the fact that she isn't yours anymore.  She's mine, and she doesn't love you anymore.  Deal with it." 

Like Aphrodite rising from the sea, Virginia emerged from the black depths of the hallway a new woman, clutching a sleep-stricken, but nonetheless unharmed, Timothy to her chest.  Whatever part of her had snapped mere seconds before released a confidence she never felt before.  She faced her monster, and, more importantly, she survived.

Wolf stared at her.  In his eyes, the lustful ferocity gave way to the pleading desire, to his want to not lose the one woman who ever brought light to his world.  "Don't go, Virginia," he whispered as she stalked past him, looking through him, never at him.  "Please-"

"Please?" came the taunting response.  "I think we've moved beyond _please_."  Wolf cursed inwardly, and, from the recesses of him mind, unearthed his trump.

"I know where to find Tony."  Her faint footsteps stopped, replaced by a tiny, startled gasp.

"Bastard."  She didn't turn to look at him, though he could sense the want, and the anger that edged her voice.  He had touched a nerve; a tender one, but one that made her stop nonetheless.

"Just keep walking, Virginia," murmured Richard uncertainly, feeling as though he had treaded into dangerous territory without taking a single step.

"I still have connections with the 9 Kingdoms; I know how you can find him."

"Stop."

"Keep moving, babe."

"I'm your only way to find him, buy you have to stay-"

"Keep _moving_, Virginia!"

"SHUT UP!"

Still refusing to turn, eyes rooted firmly on the doorway before her, Virginia slowly opened her mouth, and spoke in cold, biting tones.  "How _dare_ you?" she sneered.  "How dare you use his name like that?  How dare you use _him_ like that?  To manipulate me through my father is a new approach for you.  It's a new low.

"If I ever thought that the love we once shared could be rebuilt, I would burn the foundation regardless.  I loved you, once, but that love has withered, died, and been replaced by a stronger flame.  I have my storybook ending."  And here she turned, cold eyes searing into the back of Wolf's head.  "But monsters don't get a Happily Ever After."  Those last three words echoed mournfully in the emptiness of Wolf's heart, and Virginia Greyson walked out of the latest chapter of his life.  As she left, cool metal left his skin, and he listed and the heavy footsteps of Richard Greyson followed her exit. 

"You think about what I said," intoned the voice from behind.  Wolf listened, listened to the faint click of his door swinging into place, listened to footsteps and sighs of relief sauntered down the hall, listened as fate laughed cruelly at his misfortune.  And through it all, Wolf thought.

In his den, the beast plots.

_Fin_     

Author's Notes:

Fwuagh!  It's finally done!  First and foremost, I am deeply, DEEPLY sorry that this last chapter took so dang long to finish.  I'd claim writer's block, but come on.  Who's going to buy that?

Mini tanks to all my glorious reviewers, who seem to think I have some sort of talent running around, and that's always nice to hear.  Even better, not one reviewer made a "Dingo ate my baby," crack.  Hats off to you!  I am also exceedingly glad that no one cried "Blasphemy!" when they realized that Wolf and Virginia didn't get their Happy Ending because really, I'm not an athletic person, and I'd only be able to manage about a three minute run from the mob, at a slow pace, and probably only three feet ahead of them, so it's not like you couldn't just prod me with the pitchfork and have it done with.  

(Side note: Lady- I wasn't 100% positive on the 'wolves eat the babies' thing either.  I had heard from a friend of a friend of a bio teacher that wild animals will do that sometimes, seemingly for no reason at all, just because they think they're protecting it.  I had no factual basis to apply this theory to wolves in general, but I thought it would make a good, if not interesting, story.  Maybe it's not a wolf thing; maybe it's just a crazy thing.  He was crazy, after all."

As for the future of this arc, this is, obviously the end of this chapter in the story.  I had planned to write a follow up, but given my skill at getting things written and posted in a timely manner, who knows when this will happen.  Be advised that the future for these characters is grim grimmey grim, and will most likely be rated 'R', so just keep a watch out for that.  I do have a couple of other fandom things that I'm working on at the moment, coupled with school, work, and original writings (see my work [singular, at the moment L] at Fictionpress.com!), so really, who knows how long the first chapter is going to take.

Again, thanks to the many habitual supporters of this wee little fic, and even to those who dropped by every once in a while to add "Oooh.  Creepy."  I wuv you all.  Smiles!          


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